November 1, 2024

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Delicious food

National Corn Dog Day: Taste test results of 4 brands we sampled from grocery stores

CLEVELAND, Ohio — No one can deny the crispy, slightly sweet allure of a corn dog at a fair or festival. In fact, corn dogs rank No. 2 among most popular foods sold at fairs, according to fairsandfestivals.net, bested only by the caramel apple.

Fans of the portable dog on a stick were undoubtedly bummed when the coronavirus pandemic canceled fairs and festivals last summer. Fair food is so popular, vendors set up drive-thrus so folks could get their fix in a socially distant manner.

If you’re craving a corn dog before fairs likely open back up this summer, you can still enjoy that sweet crunchy meat treat at home with one of these boxes of mini corndogs we found when we tasted and ranked 95 frozen appetizers sold at grocery stores. Some stores sell larger corn dogs in the freezer case too but we solely purchased the mini ones since we originally were rating apps.

Dig in to these rankings and get ready to celebrate National Corn Dog Day on March 20.

Mini Corn Dogs, Market Pantry

No. 4 Mini Corn Dogs, Market Pantry

Where we bought it: Target

Price: $6.79

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 180 | Fat 8g | Cholesterol 40mg | Sodium 460mg | Carbs 22g | Protein 7g

First ingredient: Water

Box says: Cocktail chicken franks wrapped in cornmeal batter.

Our thoughts: The cornmeal coating was inconsistent and thin. Firm, chewy frank. Bland without much seasoning.

Buy it at Target $6.79

Mini Corn Dogs, Foster Farms

No. 3 Mini Corn Dogs, Foster Farms

Where we bought it: Giant Eagle

Price: $3.49

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 220 | Fat 13g | Cholesterol 25mg | Sodium 510mg | Carbs 19g | Protein 7g

First ingredient: Water

Box says: Plump and juicy bite-size chicken franks dipped in honey-crunchy batter.

Our thoughts: Reminiscent of a trip to Chik-Fil-A, these little weenies are completely covered in the rich honey-flavored batter. A solid chicken frank. This bite is not too heavy.

Buy it at Giant Eagle $3.49 | Buy it on Instacart $3.99 | Buy it at Walmart $6.96

Mini Corn Dogs, Great Value

No. 2 Mini Corn Dogs, Great Value

Where we bought it: Walmart

Price: $2.20

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 210 | Fat 11g | Cholesterol 35mg | Sodium 490mg | Carbs 22g | Protein 6g

First ingredient: Water

Box says: Batter wrapped chicken franks.

Our thoughts: Nothing new here. Good, firm “dawg” wrapped in a sweet cornmeal coating that gets crunchy when baked. Good dog-to-coating ratio.

Buy it at Walmart $2.20

Classic Mini Corn Dogs, State Fair

No. 1 Classic Mini Corn Dogs, State Fair

Where we bought it: Target

Price: $6.89

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 270 | Fat 14g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 520mg | Carbs 29g | Protein 7g

First ingredient: Water

Box says: Batter wrapped bite size turkey hot dogs made with real honey.

Our thoughts: You can smell and taste the honey and the cornmeal, but these corndogs are not overly sweet. The dog is firm and meaty and snaps back when you bite it. And there’s a good ratio of dog-to-coating.

Buy it on Instacart $10.49 | Buy it at Target $6.89

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